


you're my mortal flaw

by vyxalix



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Between Seasons, Canon Universe, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Getting Together, Hanahaki AU, Hanahaki Disease, Happy Ending, Implied Lotor/Allura, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Not Really Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-13
Updated: 2018-06-13
Packaged: 2019-05-21 17:44:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14919963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vyxalix/pseuds/vyxalix
Summary: Three months after the initial diagnosis of Hanahaki, Keith began to cough up half bloomed yellow chrysanthemums.(Despite the vastness of space, there truly was no escaping Lance.)





	you're my mortal flaw

**Author's Note:**

  * For [skyestiel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/skyestiel/gifts).



> happy belated birthday [skye](https://archiveofourown.org/users/skyestiel)!!!! 
> 
> this was the first thing i've written in months so i'm probably a little rusty. also this is completely unbeta'd and i'll replace it later with a beta'd version when i have someone look it over!! happy voltron s6 week all! enjoy the ride, i promise it's not as painful as you think it'll be

It started as a small twinge of pain blossoming in the left side of his chest. He didn’t think much of it - probably an old wound that never quite healed properly flaring up, at most. He didn’t tell anyone about the constant, though mostly dull, pain as he goes about his day.

He didn’t need to concern anyone about something that’s probably nothing. He hid the way he rubbed the left side of his ribcage, keeping his body angled away from the other Paladins.

He could feel Allura’s inquisitive glance at the slight turn of his body. He ignored it, though, until her gaze returned to the form of Lotor in front of her, discussing something that he’d rather not dig his nose into at this point. It wasn’t his business, not until Allura briefed them on their plans.

It was only once the initial pain he had felt bloomed into more of a sharp pain, like something was stuck between or inside of his lung, he wasn’t sure, did Keith excuse himself from the others. His brow furrowed, fingers massaging the soreness in his chest, but finding no relief even as he stretched out the area.

There was a silent _thank you_ provided as he realized no one had followed him from the training deck. At this point, with the pain in his chest only increasing, all Keith wanted was solitude, to collect himself and hope the pain would fade.

**[][][]**

To his dismay, the pain didn’t fade. If anything, the pain continued to get worse, solidifying in his chest, becoming heavier and heavier until he felt as if it would burst from the pressure.

It didn’t, of course.

He wished it would.

It kept him awake, unable to find a way to get comfortable to rest as he had planned. It was in the solitude of his own room in the Castle of Lions that the first petal made it’s appearance. It started as a coughing fit, doubled over in his bunk with his hand clasped over his mouth as all his energy was put into clearing his chest and throat of the obstruction.

It was then the petal slipped past his fingers and into his lap, the pain in his chest subsiding along with the urge to cough as Keith stared at the petal, eyes wide with confusion and dismay.

His chest heaved as he picked up the petal, examining the red that faded into an orange-yellow, brow pinching together, failing to come up with an answer.

**[][][]**

The failure to come up with an answer was what led him to Shiro’s room, still looking at the petal as he knocked on his friend’s door. Though Shiro had been a little off lately, he was still Shiro, and would have some sort of solution. Or, at least Keith hoped he would.

Logically, he should have gone to Coran, first. Coran would have an answer, probably. Or Kolivan. Even Krolia would probably have had an answer before Shiro.

Maybe it was just instinct to go to Shiro first.

His eyes finally pulled away from the petal when Shiro’s door opened, turning to look up at the other. Wordlessly, he held the petal out to Shiro with a small shrug.

Really, how would he explain this?

“Uh… what’cha got there, Keith?”

Figures that Shiro wouldn’t have an answer just based on a petal. Shiro probably wouldn’t believe him if he told him where it came from, anyway.

“Um… a flower petal…?” Was all Keith could really offer as any sort of explanation. “I was… hoping you could tell me what kind of flower it’s from.”

He watched as Shiro took the petal from him, examining it before sighing with a shrug.

“Sorry, Keith. I’m no flower expert. They all look similar to me. Have you asked Hunk or Pidge? They might know.”

“No,” Keith shook his head, taking the petal back from Shiro. “You were honestly the first person I thought to come to. Old habits die hard, I guess.” His words caused Shiro to chuckle, leaning against the doorframe.

“Nothing wrong with that. Where’d you get that, anyway? Did you discover a secret garden on the ship?”

“I uh… coughed it up.” Maybe he shouldn’t have been as casual about it as he was. “There was a pain in my chest, around here,” Keith gestured to the left side of his chest, near his heart but most certainly in his lung. “And I started coughing, and then this appeared. Have you ever heard of anything like this?”

Shiro blinked, “No, I haven’t. Maybe we should talk to Allura and Coran. It might be some kind of Galra thing.”

“Yeah… maybe.”

**[][][]**

“It most certainly is _not_ a Galra thing. Not really, at least.” Allura’s voice carried through the room, despite how softly she spoke. Behind her stood Lotor, a respectable distance away, though still close to assist her with whatever she might need help with. “It’s traditionally an Altean disease, actually, called _Lefu la Lipalesa_.”

“Uh… do you have a translation for that?” It was Shiro who spoke, brow raised at the Princess as his arms crossed. “Not that it’s hard to pronounce, but it’s kind of a mouthful.”

“Well, I suppose it would roughly translate to flower disease. From my understanding, for you Earthlings, there’s a supposedly fictional disease that is exactly what _Lefu la Lipalesa_ is. According to my databases, they call it Hanahaki Disease.”

“Hanahaki Disease?” Shiro echoed, eyes following Coran as he plucked the petal from Keith’s fingers, examining it.

“Why, I haven’t seen a case of _Lefu la Lipalesa_ in deca-phoebs! The last case I saw was actually your father’s sister, Princess! Though, thankfully, she had a happy ending with her beloved and her Lipalesa was cured.” Keith watched as Coran placed the petal down on a scanner, likely identifying what sort of flower it belonged to.

“Right… so, tell us more about this _Lefu_ … Hanahaki Disease.” Shiro’s attention turned back to Allura, whose hands clasped together in front of her, lips turning into a frown.

“It’s a disease of the heart,” she began, eyes flickering over to Lotor briefly, brow furrowed, before turning back to Keith and Shiro. “It’s a disease of longing, and of love. Particularly of one-sided love. It isn’t contagious, though there’s only two known cures for it.”

“But, what happens? Where do the flowers come from?” Allura sighed at Keith’s question, her hand moving up to her own chest.

“As I said, it’s a disease of the heart, Keith. Of love and longing. The flowers come from _you_. It’s quite a beautiful disease, though it’s also deadly. More often than not, if it isn’t cured, the disease will overrun the victim’s body, killing him or her slowly. The flowers will consume them, building in their chest and they’ll continue to expel the petals and blooms through coughs, until they’re suffocated by their own creations. Sometimes the blossoms will be the same per attack, sometimes they’ll be different, depending on the victim’s emotions at the time, though if they’re different, both blooms will remain in the victim’s body.”

Keith could have sworn he stopped breathing in that moment, at least for a second. Suffocate? So the flowers would kill him before long.

Lovely.

“O-kay. How do we fix him, then?” Shiro spoke up for Keith, who still couldn’t find his voice. He didn’t really want to, either.

“There’s only two known cures for _Lefu la Lipalesa_ unfortunately. The first is for whomever Keith is in love with to return his feelings, and confess them. The second is to surgically remove the flowers, though… he’ll lose the love he currently holds for them. It’s also not a sure cure, either. If he falls in love with them again, it’ll come back, and he’ll have to go through the process all over again.” Allura explained, her voice quieting further, eyes closing solemnly. Keith watched as Lotor reached out, placing a hand on her shoulder gently, before he turned to face Keith and Shiro.

“There’s one other part to _Lefu la Lipalesa_ that I don’t believe the Princess is quite aware of. With Alteans, the flowers don’t take root and are quite easy to remove. However, should a Galra contract _Lefu la Lipalesa_ , the flowers take root in the respiratory system rather quickly, and are far more difficult to remove.” Lotor’s voice was equally as soft as Allura’s, and if Keith really looked, he would be able to see the pity in his eyes. “There’s also the chance you’ll lose all memory of your loved one with the removal of the flowers, as a half-Galra. As a Galra, there’s a higher chance of losing those memories.”

“If it make you feel any better, Keith, you’re still in the early stages! You’ll only be dealing with petals here and there, though… I suppose that the more you’re exposed to the one you love, the more rapid the disease will reach its final stages, and you’ll be coughing up fully bloomed flowers.” Coran chimed in, pausing after a moment. “That didn’t help at all, did it?”

“...No, not one bit, Coran. Thanks, though.” Keith finally spoke, shaking his head, before looking back at Allura. “So, how does Hanahaki affect humans?”

“I’m afraid we don’t know, Keith. Before you five entered my castle, we had never encountered humans before. Your species, besides what we’ve been able to gather for data since you’ve joined us, is essentially a mystery.” Allura turned to Coran, sighing softly. “Have you identified what flower plagues Keith, Coran?”

“Oh, um, yes, Princess! From my database of Earth flowers provided by Hunk, I’ve gathered that this is a petal from a red freesia! Quite a beautiful flower, if I do say so myself! Unfortunate that this is how we’ve come to see it for ourselves.”

Turning back to Keith, Allura shook her head lightly. “The choice is yours, Keith. You can choose to have Coran and myself remove the budding flowers, and rob you of your feelings for this individual, or you can find out for yourself if your feelings are returned.”

Keith sighed, closing his eyes in thought. Really, in the midst of a war, potential death from _flowers_ of all things was not something he needed, or wanted to deal with. It would be so easy to just accept Allura’s offer and be done with it, never have to deal with knowing his feelings wouldn’t be returned, wouldn’t have to feel the way he did--

But then there was the thought of _not_ being in love with that stupid smile or those bright eyes, of being annoyed whenever he spoke, and the idea of not even _knowing_ him. How would they work as a team if Keith couldn’t remember him? He wouldn’t let him live it down, either, and would yell at him for it, try and get him to stop playing around when he couldn’t--

“I can’t let myself forget Lance. Even if it’s only a chance, I can’t let myself forget him. Not when we’re a team. I’d rather let myself get overrun by the flowers than lose him.”

“Ah,” Coran sighed, almost wistfully at the admittance. “If only a selfless act like that could cure the beautiful, imminent death that comes with _Lefu la Lipalesa_!” Then, it seemed to register to Coran what Keith had said. “Wait a tick-- _Lance_?!”

**[][][]**

The second, third, and fourth petals came all at the same time. It was during another training session. Keith was working one on one with Lance ( _of course he was, because the universe simply wanted him to suffer_ ) and helping him more with the broadsword.

He had been working with Lance on perfecting his stance and parries when he fell to his knees, Luxite blade clattering to the floor as Keith was overcome with a coughing fit. Lance’s bayard fell to the floor in response, returning to it’s dormant form as Lance moved to Keith’s side.

“Keith!” Lance’s voice was so _loud_. He didn’t have an indoor voice at all, and maybe that was one of the reasons Keith liked him. He was always so passionate about everything he did. “Keith, buddy, are you okay? What happened?”

That was when the first petal of the attack slipped past his fingers. Another red freesia petal, identical to the first one he had coughed up the week before. Red freesias really did suit Lance, Keith decided, now that he had looked into the meaning of the flower upon Lotor’s urging.

Odd, how Lotor had become someone to come to with the knowledge of Keith’s Hanahaki.

“Dude,” Lance breathed out, and Keith could only assume he had seen the petal. How could he not? It wasn’t as if Keith could hide it, particularly as a second one fell.

Disgusting.

“Are you coughing up flowers? I thought that was just something someone made up back home to make stories more interesting. I didn’t… it’s real?”

“It is.” Allura spoke up, entering the training deck quickly, Lotor and Shiro behind her. So, it seemed as though Coran had sent for the Princess, pulling her away from more important things for _this_ \-- something he had already told her he would suffer with if it meant he could stay by Lance’s side. “I assume you know the details about the disease, then, Lance?”

“Well, kinda, but like… I didn’t think it was _real_.” Lance sighed, shaking his head. “So, how do we fix him? We’re not just gonna leave him like this, right?”

Allura sighed, glancing between Keith and Lance before shaking her head. “Unfortunately, Keith has already made his decision. He won’t let us remove the flowers, as there poses a high risk for him as half-Galra. He could forget this person entirely, and he doesn’t want that.”

“So, what, we have to get this other person to fall in love with him then? Fine, challenge accepted! Who do we have to seduce for Keith?” At Lance’s question, Keith’s eyes widened, meeting Allura’s. He made her, as well as Lotor, Shiro, and Coran, promise not to tell anyone that of all people, _Lance_ was the one Keith just had to fall for. That promise, of course, _included_ Lance.

Lotor was the one to answer this time, shaking his head. “He wouldn't tell us. He seemed very determined to keep it a secret. Perhaps not to burden his love _with_ his love. Quite selfless, and yet, he’s sealed his own fate like that.”

The third petal fell, this time, an acacia blossom.

**[][][]**

Honestly, it was exhausting to suffer with Hanahaki. Keith was always on guard, wondering when he would succumb to a coughing fit, used to the pain that lingered in his chest consistently now, curious as to if the next attack would follow with a fully bloomed flower.

It had been a month since Allura diagnosed him with Hanahaki. Since then, he’s been coughing up a multitude of petals - red freesias, acacia blossoms, and now white chrysanthemums.

Those were new, though, only having started appearing a few days ago.

He hasn’t told Shiro, though. Or Allura, Coran, or Lance.

 _Especially_ not Lance.

Instead, he’s taken to sticking near Lotor. Lance was still wary of the Prince - or rather, Emperor - making Lotor a “safe” space to find reprieve from everything when his Hanahaki became far too overwhelming. Too much time around Lance, and the attacks would be more frequent. More time around Lotor meant less time around Lance, which meant less attacks from the disease that plagued his heart.

Which, really, just thinking of Lance caused a brief coughing spell, another white chrysanthemum petal passing through his lips. He heard Lotor sigh at the sight of the petal, looking up in time to watch the other’s head shake.

“Really, I would suggest telling Allura that you’ve created yet another blossom. Three flowers is highly uncommon, and may suggest more research should be done on _Lefu la Lipalesa_.”

Keith snorted, “No thanks. I don’t exactly want Coran poking and prodding at my body because he’s curious as to how it affects the human half of me.” Shaking his head, Keith leaned back, flicking through the screen in front of him. “What are you even doing with these? Old blueprints from Zarkon’s ship?”

“Not exactly,” Lotor didn’t turn back to the previous topic, which Keith was glad for. “More like designs I had Acxa draw up for the meteor, though they’re flawed now that I look more closely at them. I almost wonder if this was done on purpose, to prevent my success.”

Keith didn’t pretend to understand exactly what Lotor was talking about, shrugging slightly. “You’re having Allura help you with the next step in your plan, aren’t you? You’re not just… _using_ her, right?”

Lotor was silent for a moment. “I admit, at first, she was simply a means to my success. She is, after all, a full-blooded Altean unlike myself. But during my time by her side, I’ve come to realize a multitude of things about myself, and her. Things that I’m both surprised by, as well as not.” He sighed, glancing over at Keith. “No, I’m not using her. I won’t betray her, I assure you.”

“...Works for me. I have no reason to not believe you. You’ve… been good to her, I guess, since you got here. Or at least that’s what Pidge and Shiro tell me. Not to mention she seems happier when you’re around.” Keith chuckled a little, almost a little ruefully. “At least your feelings are mutual.”

“You really should talk to Lance. He’s convinced your feelings are for Shiro. If you confess to him, perhaps--”

“It’ll cure my Hanahaki if they’re returned, yeah. But if they’re not, I’m… afraid of what may happen. If the flowers will come faster and fuller, and I won’t be able to see this war to the end.”

“...Well, whatever your decision may be, you can’t continue hiding from Lance by pretending to assist me in my work.”

“You can’t tell me what to do.”

Lotor simply rolled his eyes in response.

**[][][]**

Three months after the initial diagnosis of Hanahaki, Keith began to cough up half bloomed yellow chrysanthemums. The white ones stopped appearing when the yellow ones surfaced, making Keith think that the chrysanthemums simply shifted from white to yellow.

Though, he preferred the meaning of the white ones over the yellow ones. They were less painful, both in meaning and in the sense that the white ones had remained petals. Not blooms.

Coran said the half blooms meant he was halfway to the final stages of Hanahaki. At the rate he was progressing, with half blooms in three months, Keith wouldn’t live to see four months out.

The idea that he had roughly three months left was… oddly comforting. Sure, he would hate to leave behind everyone, but also… there wouldn’t be pain anymore? Both physically and emotionally, because even now, three months later, he hasn’t tried to admit to Lance that _he’s_ the cause of Keith’s Hanahaki.

In three months, or even less than, Keith would be coughing up fully bloomed flowers by the bouquet, each flower related to Lance and himself in their meanings. In three months, the roots linked to the flowers would finish corrupting his body and respiratory system would finish their job, and pull Keith from his misery.

Was it even misery? He wasn't sure. He knew he was constantly in pain, though, and he was waiting for that pain to end.

Would he tell Lance as the last bloom made itself known? Confess to Lance in a last-ditch effort to keep himself alive?

Would that be guilting Lance into loving him in return? Or would Lance yell at him for not telling him sooner, so that Lance could try and fall for Keith in return?

But that wouldn’t be a real love, would it? Learning to love someone just to save them? It seemed cheap, bittersweet in Keith’s eyes.

Maybe it would just be better to let the Hanahaki take him, and leave Lance none the wiser about who his heart longed for the entire time.

Maybe in a cruel twist of fate, he’ll find that Lance has been in love with him the entire time. Wouldn’t that be ironic? Suffering for months on end, thinking his love was unrequited, only to find that it’s been mutual, and they were both too terrified to say anything?

Keith sighed, looking at the collection of blooms and petals on the desk put in just a month ago in his room. Allura insisted he keep them, as much as he wanted to toss them all away.

Apparently, she believed if he kept the flowers around, he may come to a conclusion to tell Lance about his feelings.

Keith didn’t have the heart to tell her that telling Lance about his feelings was the last thing he ever planned on doing.

Literally, at that.

Staring at the blooms almost made Keith miss the first few days of Hanahaki, with the occasional red freesia petal making themselves known. He’s seen less of the freesias, the yellow chrysanthemums being more common, though they certainly still exist.

Moreso, Keith misses the days before the Hanahaki made itself known. The less than simple, but more simple than Hanahaki, life with the Blade of Marmora, training endlessly and proving to Kolivan his worth.

Maybe he should go back. Get away from Lance, from everyone, and let the Hanahaki consume him slowly, or fade until he meets Lance again. He still wasn’t sure on how the Hanahaki worked, really, if pulling away from Lance completely would put it into remission.

Part of him wanted to find out.

The other part of him didn’t.

There was no saying if Keith went back to the Blade, if it would go into remission. He doubted it - the Blade would be working closely with Paladins, he was sure, now that he really thought about it.

Despite the vastness of space, there truly was no escaping Lance.

**[][][]**

The red asters were new, and in nearly full bloom by the time the fifth month of Hanahaki came around. They were nearly twice as beautiful as the freesias, and thrice as painful as the chrysanthemums.

At this point, Keith knew his time was quickly running out. Between the half bloomed chrysanthemums and the red asters, there was no denying it. The inability to deny the fatality of the disease brought frustration through the Paladins, and tensions rose.

Lance blamed Shiro, and disbelieved Shiro’s denial of being Keith’s love. Hunk and Pidge didn’t blame anyone - they weren’t stupid, and had quickly figured out where Keith’s affections were laying, though they couldn’t, or perhaps wouldn’t, tell said person. Shiro, like Lance, blamed himself, if only for following Keith’s wishes to not tell Lance.

Allura, Coran, and Lotor placed no blame, attempting to soothe the tensions that were rapidly rising at the prospect of losing Keith. They had nearly lost him multiple times, but now there was an actual time limit before they truly lost Keith, and to himself at that.

Krolia, during the fifth month, had only just learned of her son’s disease. Having been with the Blade of Marmora, Keith hadn’t exactly clued his mother into what was going on with himself. Of course, Keith had expected the disappointment from her, with how they were a newly reunited mother and son, though he knew she understood his position.

It wasn’t exactly easy to tell your mother that you were dying from _Lefu la Lipalesa_ when the cause of it was a constant presence in Keith’s life. Like Allura and Lotor, Krolia insisted that Keith get his confession over with - and if he was rejected, to get the blooms removed, even if he lost his memories of Lance.

It wouldn’t be so bad that way, would it?

But as he had told Allura and Lotor, and himself --

There was just no forgetting Lance. It wasn’t an option, not with how long they _have_ known each other. That wouldn’t be fair to Lance, more than to himself. After knowing Lance for years, he couldn’t just take away his own memories of Lance, and leave Lance with all the memories of Keith.

That definitely wasn’t fair to Lance.

Keith was sure he’d also feel like he was losing a part of himself by forgetting Lance, and losing himself? Well, he had already done that when he learned he wasn’t _human_. He didn’t exactly long to feel lost all over again.

The figurative ticking clock was what led Keith to sit with Krolia on the training deck. Normally, he’d find himself with the Red or Black Lion, though neither felt quite _right_ now - not with Lance as Red’s pilot, or with Shiro back in Black. They weren’t _his_ lions anymore, making it just… _weird_ to spend time with them. The training deck, at the very least, was neutral ground.

“I understand why you don’t want to remove the flowers, Keith. But you must understand that I _just_ got you back, and now I have limited time with my only son.” Krolia’s eyes were cast to the floor as she spoke, and Keith could feel the guilt tugging at his chest.

Maybe it was selfish to let the Hanahaki take him.

“I know, mom. I’m sorry. My mind is made up, though. I can’t just tell him how I feel. He’s in love with Allura, after all. I’m not even on his radar. And I don’t want to guilt him into returning my feelings. That’s not fair to either of us. And I don’t want to forget him, after all we’ve been through.”

“I know. You don’t want to leave him with memories you no longer carry. I really do understand, Keith, but don’t you think he’ll miss you even a little?”

Keith snorted, “That guy? Not at all. He’s too focused on wooing Princess Allura that it won’t bother him after a while, I don’t think. He’ll be sad for a little, maybe, but after that… it’s back to Princess, Princess, Princess.”

“You don’t mean that--”

“It’s better I let myself believe that.”

**[][][]**

   
_(Keith didn’t know Lance was listening in on his conversation with Krolia. Keith didn’t know that Lance immediately assumed he was talking about Lotor with his vague descriptions._

  
_In hindsight, he should have realized Lance was there._

  
_He should have known the moment he was sent into a coughing fit, a fully bloomed white camellia falling into his lap.)_

**[][][]**

The camellia is an object of abject horror for the Paladins, even more so for Keith. He knows what it means, that his time is coming to an end. The pain in his chest, once bearable, is crippling now. He’s barely able to move from his bunk, every movement sending him into another fit, petals and half-blooms scattered across his pillow, laced with blood from the roots twisting with his systems.

If he had known when he was first told he had Hanahaki that he would only have five months left, maybe he would have done something more with his time.

It was due to the pain that Keith was unaware of the Paladins gathered outside of his door, speaking in hushed whispers. They knew he wouldn’t have much longer, and the realization was just as devastating as it had been the first day.

“Are we just going to stand around here and wait for Keith to choke to death on those stupid flowers?” Lance groaned, crossing his arms. “He’s stronger than this, he’s really gonna let this kill him?”

“It’s not that easy, Lance,” Pidge countered, pursing her lips. “Those flowers are rooted into Keith’s lungs. Sure, we could remove them, but he’d lose his memories, probably.”

“So he loses a few memories, but he’ll live. I don’t--”

“Say it was you, Lance. Say you had Hanahaki, and if you chose to have those flowers taken out, would you really want to lose _all_ your memories of the person you love? It’s not just a few memories, it’s _all_ of your memories of that person.” Pidge huffed, crossing her arms.

“All of them?” Lance echoed, brow furrowing. Well, when Pidge put it that way…

“ _All_ of them. The day you met, the good memories, the bad memories, the inside jokes, the laughs, the adventures. You wouldn’t remember a single one, and they would keep them all. They’d be looking at someone they had a history with, and for you, that history wouldn’t exist anymore. So, put yourself in Keith’s shoes. What would you do?”

Lance sighed at Pidge’s question. “Well… I get it. I wouldn’t wanna lose my memories of Keith--”

At Hunk’s shout, Lance couldn’t help but jump, and then there was Shiro pinning Lance to the wall and Pidge and Allura looking at him in exasperation--

“What did I say?!”

“You just said you wouldn’t want to lose your memories of _Keith_ , dude!” Hunk groaned, hitting his head against the wall. “Lance, buddy, I love you but _come on_.”

“What does it matter if I said Keith? He’s totally in love with Lotor, isn’t he? Like yeah, I thought it was Shiro for a while, but then I heard him talking to Krolia and everything he said described Lotor--”

“Lance,” Shiro interrupted, fingers tightening on said Paladin’s shoulders. “Keith is not in love with _Lotor_.”

“But he’s been spending so much time with him I just kind of assumed--”

“Lance. Lance, buddy, my man… you are so dense.” Hunk groaned, hitting his head on the wall again. “Please, for the love of everything and Keith, someone else tell him before I shake it into him.”

“Calm down, Hunk.” Allura finally spoke up, pressing lightly on Shiro’s chest to have him release Lance. “Lance, you are quite dense, I agree with Hunk. Keith has never once meant Shiro or Lotor when he’s talked about his loved one. It’s always been _you_ . If you truly feel the same for Keith, you’re the only one who can cure his _Lefu la Lipalesa_.”

“Whoa whoa-- _me_? Why would Keith be in love with me? And who-- who said I loved Keith, huh? Sure he’s like, cool and and strong and reliable and kind of good looking--”

“ _Lance_ we don’t have time for this.” Shiro interrupted Lance’s rambling. “Keith is running on borrowed time at this point. Do you, or do you not, love Keith?”

“I… I suppose I do.”

“Then _get in there_ and _tell him_.” Lance stumbled as Shiro pushed him towards the door, red creeping up the back of his neck because oh man he wasn’t prepared to confess to Keith like this--

But Shiro was right. Keith was running out of time. The camellias were fully bloomed, and Keith was in the last stages of Hanahaki, he could do this, he could totally--

Holding his breath as Keith’s door slid open, Lance could only let his brow pinch together as he stepped inside, the door sliding shut behind him, leaving him alone with Keith.

“Hey, mullet,” Lance began, voice soft as he approached the bed. “You can’t die on me just yet. We-- _I_ … still need you.”

Keith didn’t reply as Lance knelt by the side of his bed, and Lance listened to the pained breaths Keith took.

“You know, I hated you when we were at the Garrison. You were so cool and you knew Shiro. You had the best scores that I couldn’t reach, and I so badly wanted to be like you, or be as good as you, just to impress you. But then you left, and I still struggled to reach your scores.”

He laughed a little, almost sadly as he reached out, taking Keith’s hand in his, his thumb running over the back of Keith’s knuckles. “I’m glad you came back, and led us to Blue. I’m glad we’ve been through all of this together, and I don’t want it to stop. I guess-- what I’m trying to say-- your feelings… they’re not as one-sided as you think. Not at all, actually.”

Lance swallowed a lump in his throat, resting his forehead against his and Keith’s clasped hands. “So come back to me, mullet. Come back and confess to me properly so I can tell you that I love you, too.”

**[][][]**

  
_(Every year on their anniversary, Lance never fails to bring up the camellias. It’ll be the first thing he says to Keith when they wake up, and it never fails to make him laugh._

  
_Every year on their anniversary, Keith brings the last full bloomed camellia out of the stasis Coran puts it in the day after._

  
_Every year on their anniversary when the camellia is brought out, Lance insists on braiding Keith’s hair, now falling to his upper back, and tucking the stem of the flower into the end of the braid._

  
_Every year, Keith repeats that the camellia would look better on Lance, and every time Keith says it, Lance will insist it looks the best on Keith._

  
_Every year on their anniversary, they both know they’ll become emotional over the fact their stubbornness almost cost Keith his life._

  
_Every year they know that their emotions will fade to laughter at how a little death brought them together._

  
_Every year they decide they would never change a thing about how their romance began.)_

**Author's Note:**

> im always yelling about ffxiv on twitter but hey hit me up for klance or bsd on [twitter](http://twitter.com/magnai__) or [tumblr](http://antaeganist.tumblr.com)
> 
> flower meanings -  
> red freesia : passion  
> acacia blossom : concealed love  
> red aster : undying devotion  
> white chrysanthemums : loyalty & honesty  
> yellow chrysanthemums : sorrow & neglected love  
> white camellias : purity, love between mother & child, mourning
> 
>  _lefu la lipalesa_ sesotho for flower disease. i'm no good at coming up with fake words so... ta da
> 
> [this is where the title came from and its v klance to me](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-zNYMO6SyQ)


End file.
